


A Hard Day's Night

by quinnkng



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2019-11-18 08:23:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18116990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quinnkng/pseuds/quinnkng
Summary: A oneshot where Liv and Alex meet prematurely. Ever see the first episode of Grey's Anatomy? This is like that.





	1. Chapter 1

9:18 AM  
Midtown Manhattan 

With a groan, Olivia stretched and rolled over in bed. Her body was sore and the sunlight felt like daggers to her eyes. For the most part, she could handle her liquor just fine, but a late night out definitely meant she’d need a couple extra cups of coffee before she would feel entirely like herself again. She moved to get up and get started on that caffeine when she felt an unfamiliar object in the bed. 

It wasn’t all that unusual for the detective to wake up with a stranger under her duvet. However, most of the time her conquests looked significantly better through the whiskey tinted glasses and low lights of her favorite bar than they did under the harsh, stripey morning sun which seeped through the slats of her blinds. That being said, the blonde who lay next to her was a different story. Olivia sat up more carefully as to not disturb her, and examined the porcelain beauty who was hogging her pillow.

Her golden hair cascaded over her face in complete disarray, creating a stark contrast with her peaceful expression. Soft and serene, her skin seemed to glow. Between her eyebrows stayed the little beginnings of wrinkles, leftover from furrowing her brow all too often. This was a woman who knew stress, but right now you’d hardly be able to tell.

Her full lips showed a hint of the lipstick she had worn the night before. Olivia raised a hand to her own lips to feel the presence of the waxy red hue, blushing to match the color as she remembered how exactly it got there. 

A chime from her phone startled her from her thoughts. 

Elliot: You on your way? Cap wants you here yesterday. 

Fuck. The time was 9:20. She was supposed to have been at work nearly half an hour ago. Given the beauty in her bed, it was no surprise she had forgotten to set an alarm the night before. Jumping out of bed, she shot a quick “on my way,” back to Elliot before washing her face, getting dressed, and running out the door. It looked like she wouldn’t be getting the extra coffee she needed this morning after all. 

\--

Back in bed, Alex stirred. Eyebrows knit together, her lips pursed slightly and her dark eyelashes fluttered open, only to shut once more. Quickly the sun proved too much for her pounding headache. She hadn’t meant to drink so much; She just wanted one or two to calm her nerves, quiet her mind, and help her get some sleep before her first day at her new job. She hadn’t expected to stay out so long, to discover a new favorite whiskey, or to meet a woman who took her breath away so swiftly.

The night before she had been sitting in a dimly lit booth in the back of the room. A couple of hours into a new book, a waitress interrupted her with another drink. Alex frowned at first; She could already anticipate a man with a toothy grin waving at her from the bar, feeling entitled to her attention after sending her the drink. Her mind was already at work thinking of ways to end the impending conversation as quickly as possible and get back to her book. So when the waitress said, “this is from the woman at the bar,” Alex’s frown shifted into a curious half-smile. When she looked over and locked eyes with a gorgeous brunette, she felt her cheeks flush. She wasted no time waving her over to say hello. 

Hello turned into talking, talking turned into dancing, and dancing turned into a cab ride to somewhere they could have a little more privacy. Now as she lay tangled in the sheets of a stranger’s bed, Alex’s lazy morning vibes were quickly replaced with pure hungover panic as her gaze fell to the alarm clock next to the bed. Fuck.

9:46 AM  
Special Victims Unit Squadroom

Olivia poured two cups of coffee. One was her second cup, and the other was Elliot’s third. He had been up most of the night with the twins who had managed to bring the flu into the Stabler household. They could only drown themselves in hand sanitizer and hope the rest of the family and the squad didn’t catch it too. Realistically though, everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Tight quarters in the one-six meant once one person got hit with the bug, the rest would go dropping like flies.

“45 minutes late...” Elliot mused, wondering if their new colleague would even show

“It wouldn’t be the first time an ADA changed their mind about working with us,” said Munch.

“Hell of a first impression,” Olivia muttered. 

Just then, the clicking of heels in the hallway cut through the droning noise of sticky keyboards typing DD-5s. Eyes turned to the double doors as a tall blonde hurriedly strode into the precinct. Slender fingers reached up to take off sunglasses, revealing piercing blue eyes which scanned the room looking for the man in charge. 

Olivia’s eyes widened as they met the blonde’s. It was a hell of a first impression indeed. The detective watched as her cool attitude faltered momentarily, realization and horror flitting across her face as she recognized Olivia.

“Can I help you?” asked Cragen. 

“Alexandra Cabot; your new ADA.” 

“Nice of you to show up. Don Cragen.”

Alex’s face flushed as they shook hands. Late to her first day of work wasn’t her plan. She wouldn’t have been in this situation if it weren’t for that goddamn brunette.

“Welcome to SVU, Ms. Cabot. We need a warrant. Detectives Benson and Stabler here will fill you in.” He gestured to Olivia and Elliot. Alex eyed the brunette tentatively for a moment and the detective raised an eyebrow as if challenging her. Alex was never one to back down from a challenge, and she wasn’t about to let this woman fuck up her first day even further by getting inside her head. Approaching their desk she held Olivia’s gaze.

“So what’ve we got?”


	2. Chapter 2

4:40 PM  
16th Precinct

Working with a new ADA was never easy for the Special Victims Unit. Between the shock that accompanied their first case and the way they would bristle at the detectives’ “questionable” methods of working it, no lawyer ever seemed to stick around long. And that was relatively okay, because this instability left the squad a lot of wiggle room to do their police work however they damn pleased. To be frank, Alex was appalled when she heard about SVU’s roguery. The “behavioral issues” she’d heard so much whispering about left her less than eager to jump into the action. They were trying their best to work together, but the detectives weren’t used to the pair of piercing blue eyes in their case files and their courtroom. Rather accustomed to a rotating cast of prosecutorial temps, this undivided attention was new. 

Olivia’s attention, though, was all but undivided. Working with ADA Alex Cabot wasn’t just hard, it had thrown her in a way no one ever had. She hated being distracted from her work. Sitting in the bullpen, her stubborn mind repeatedly strayed from dreary DD5s back to five short days ago, to the five waking hours spent with the woman who made her head spin. Too many times she found herself listening far too closely for the sound of those heels in the hallway instead of listening to her coworkers discuss the case at hand.

She wasn’t sure when it was worse: at home or at work. In the precinct, her senses were constantly on high alert. No matter what she was doing there seemed to be a constant buzz in the back of her mind, a whisper in her ear that sounded a lot like Alex’s voice. But then, when she’d come home exhausted and wanting nothing other than sleep, the thoughts she’d tried hard to relegate to the back of her mind would come creeping to the forefront. In the quiet still air of her bedroom, she swore she could still hear echoes of the blonde’s sultry, slurred words dripping off the muted yellow walls.

Olivia resented how her brain was so damn saturated with Alex. She wasn’t the kind to get hung up on a one night stand, but then again she had never before been forced to see them on a near-daily basis in the aftermath. It was this repeated exposure that had her stuck, she told herself. It was just rose-colored glasses… But rose-colored glasses couldn’t possibly have created the rosy glow of the lawyer’s cheeks every time she locked eyes with Olivia at work, or the red flush of her skin under beads of sweat when she gasped her name: “Oh- O- Olivia!”

“Olivia! Hello?” Cragen’s voice shook her from her daydream. She sat up straight, blinking the imagery from her head as if wiping steam off a mirror. Running a clammy hand through her hair, she turned her chair around. 

“Yeah, sorry Cap?”

“I said, Cabot called, needs you for the lineup.”

“Uh, can’t El go?” Given her apparent state of mind, she thought it best to avoid the blonde for the time being. “I’ve really gotta finish up this paperwork.” 

“Is that so? I didn’t see much typing going on over there. You go; seems like you could use the fresh air anyway,” he insisted as Olivia sighed, closing the files on her desk. Being called out by Cragen always put her tail between her legs. Glancing up she found Elliot shooting her a shit-eating grin. 

“What?”

“You good?” he smirked, cocking his head and raising a brow.

“Great.”

—

In the DA’s office, Alex had her bag out on her desk, rifling through the pockets—always too many pockets. Pulling out a compact mirror, she flipped it open to apply a color to her lips that was perhaps too bold for a woman with a political agenda. That being said, she had a different kind of agenda on her mind today. Really, it was ridiculous for a routine lineup to have her touching up her lipstick in preparation as if the saturation could color the witness’s testimony in her favor. Yet, here she was, vying for the perfect Cupid’s Bow to take with her to the precinct. 

Snapping the mirror closed, she tossed it back into the purse in exchange for a spritz of perfume over her chest. She ran her hands down her sides to smooth her suit and packed up the last of her paperwork for the day. Leaving her office and locking the door, she noted the rain starting to pick up on the large ornate window capping the end of the hall. 

Usually she would have simply walked over to the precinct, and usually she had an umbrella in her bag. However, she had missed her umbrella in the transfer to a new purse which she’d bought as a celebration of her new job. Ironically enough, Alex wasn’t so sure the position was worth celebrating anymore. After struggling through a week of Olivia’s sidelong glances it was becoming clear she wouldn’t be able to forget about the last weekend. Despite the situation’s sensitivity and potential for career suicide, her imagination kept running wild every time she saw the brunette.

Standing in the building’s vestibule, her sigh fogged the glass of the door as she glanced at her watch. She bit the inside of her cheek and tightened the tie of her coat, preparing to make a run for it. Jogging into the downpour, one hand held a file folder over her head and the other waved for a taxi. She cursed as an off duty cab passed her by, feeling the cardstock protecting her hair begin to soften between her fingers.

Some ten minutes later, Alex stepped into the station drenched and dripping with displeasure. Like a wet cat, she slunk into the bathroom, muttering bitter words as she peeled off her coat. Crouching under the hand dryer she tried her best to dry off. The last thing she needed was for her team to see her looking so disheveled. And the scumbag defense, too, for that matter. She stood up, assessing her reflection: not ideal. Throwing her hair into a sorry soggy bun, she pushed out of the bathroom with a huff, straight into the detective who was on her mind.

“Oliv-detective, sorry,” Alex apologized, putting a hand on Olivia’s arm reflexively. She glanced at Alex’s hand and then back to her, and Alex immediately retracted it, cheeks reddening.

“Counselor,” Olivia nodded, “I was just heading down to grab the witness and meet you.”

The formalities tasted strange on both their lips, a ridiculous juxtaposition with the inappropriate scenes that had been playing out behind cloudy eyes. With small talk about the day and the case, the two women wound through the station. 

The lineup went well. Though the witness made a positive ID, Alex and Olivia managed to make each other feel positively tortured. The exchange with the defense attorney was bothersome, but the feeling of Olivia’s eyes scorching up Alex’s legs had the blonde far more bothered than even the sleaziest lawyer could. She tried to focus on the conversation, but even while standing perhaps unreasonably far from Olivia, she felt suffocated in the small room. It was as if the fire from her detective’s glances was burning up all the oxygen and she was left sweating, short of breath, and unable to tear her gaze from those brown eyes that were singeing the hem of her skirt. They left a heat that would linger, traveling from the fabric to her skin, searing up her thigh and painting her cheeks with a rouge that could make Yves Saint Laurent pale in comparison. Maybe her lipstick was Maybelline, but her blush was all Benson. 

Afterward, the brunette slipped out before Alex could catch her to say goodbye. While she was disappointed, she admitted to herself it was for the best. Walking outside, the rain had let up. Left in its wake was a heavy humidity emanating from the pavement and a dampness that clung still to Alex’s skin. It was hot and bothersome in a way that didn’t help to take her mind off of her detective. She threw up a hand to hail a cab and gratefully stepped into the air conditioning. It was a welcome respite from the heat outside that felt like it could drown her, swirling and sticking to her, thick as her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a minute. anyone still alive for some cabenson?? SVU 21 starts in 1 week and i'm feeling INSPIRED

**Author's Note:**

> thinking about continuing this but it was mostly an excuse to write the ladies wakin up after a wild night


End file.
